Miskatonic Books
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sam Moskowitz on Dreams in the Witch House
***
Introduction to THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE
H. P. Lovecraft
One of the paradoxes of Lovecrates admirers is the annoyance they have felt when that talented author was referred to as a major science fiction writer as well as a master of the supernatural. Despite the undeniable evidence of The Colour Out of Space, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Shadow Out of Time, to name three major works, they have particularly rankled when shown how much closer to science fiction such masterpieces by him as ne Dunwich Horror, The Call of CthiAhu, The Shunned House and even The Temple were than to the supernatural.
The paradox rests in the strong efforts some of these same people have made to show that The Dreams in the Witch-House is as much science fiction as it is supernatural. They received no small assistance in this effort from H. P. Lovecraft who in the context of the story referred to Einstein's theories, the space-time continuum, "the elements of high atomic weight which chemistry was absolutely powerless to identify." The possibility of stepping from the third into the fourth dimension and back again, extra-dimensional geometry was considered, and finally the statement "the alien curves and spirals of some ethereal vortex which obeyed laws unknown to the physics and mathematics of any conceivable universe," sounded a note of frustration.
The truth way that H. P. Lovecraft did not believe in the supernatural. Never did and never would to the day of his death and felt that many of his readers didn't and attempted to offer the possibility that there was some scientific rather than supernatural explanation for witchcraft to make his stories more convincing.
In this he succeeded, for though The Dreams In The Witch-House cannot be said to be a "forgotten" masterpiece of horror, it is certainly far too infrequently encountered in anthologies of the genre.
Sam Moskowitz
Great Untold Stories of Fantasy and Horror, ed. Andre Norton & Sam Moskowitz, Pyramid, 1969
Rare images of HPL's graves (1979)

GRAVEYARD WALKING AND GRAVEWATCHING by JOHN DINAN
An inveterate graveyard walker himself, H. P. Lovecraft often passed an enjoyable hour or two with a companion tromping through cemeter- ies looking for who knows what --- signs of the ancient ones or merely observing the angles headstones take as they descend to earth over a hundred years and the color and form of lichen- oids they accumulate during the fall.
Over the years the pastime of visiting graves has changed. There are of course the familial reasons --- visiting graves to pray for the dead; the curious --- whose unconscious does not harbor dread Jungian death archetypes? --; the collectors of headstone humor (no longer do we talk to the living from our graves); and there are those who go to cemeteries because they are places of beauty. Swan Point Cemetery is a place of beauty and the location of the Phillips-Lovecraft family plot --- which brings us to another reason the living have to visit the dead.
In Famous and Curious Cemeteries (John Mar- ion, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1977), the author in discussing Lovecraft notes: "In the past, members of a family visited a cemetery for fam- ilial reasons. In the twentieth century most cemeteries are places of pilgrimage for those who, in essence, form a cult. Those who admire a writer, artist, or statesman make the journey in an effort to achieve some communion with the long-revered deceased."
Interestingly, there are 23 former Rhode Island governors buried at Swan Point but the only grave that warrants a map is Lovecraft's. When I went into the office to inquire as to the location of the grave the woman squealed, "Oh my God, it's spring again --- they're coming to look at Lovecraft's grave already."
Lovecraft grave watchers will notice that the photo of the Phillips-Lovecraft family plot in Long's Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Drecmer on the Night Side does not include the Sarah S. Lovecraft, Winfield S. Lovecraft and Howard Phil- lips Lovecraft headstones. Sadly, I can report that Howard's stone does not tilt at an eerie or obscene angle nor is it encrusted with lichens.
All in all, it's a good trip for the Love- craft devotee and I would recommend that one get the First World Fantasy Awards Anthology and consult the map on page eleven for other places of interest.
An excerpt or two from Mr. Dinan's cover letter follows.
Dear Mr. Ganley:
I've enclosed a tong photo of the fonizy plot which you can view beside the photo on page 188 of Long's Arkham book on Lovecraft to establish the placement of the three new headstones.
I've also enclosed .... a czose-up of the Howard Phillips Lovecraft headstone.
John Dinan
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Fantasy Mongers #1

Lovecraft's Friend: W. Paul Cook
January 9, 2005
By A. C. Hutchison
Sean Donnelly is a scholarly 28-year-old native of Norwalk, Conn., with a master's degree in library science from the University of South Florida. Leland M. Hawes Jr., a 75-year-old Tampa native, retired recently after a lengthy and distinguished career in professional journalism.
The pair met last year when the head of the University of Tampa Press, Richard Mathews, invited Donnelly, his part-time assistant, to join him and his friend Hawes for one of their frequent lunches at the Valencia Garden, a popular Spanish restaurant within walking distance of the campus and an easy drive from the Tampa Tribune, where for the past 20 years the gentlemanly Hawes edited the "History & Heritage" page in the paper's Sunday edition.
Given the difference in their ages, Donnelly and Hawes were surprised to discover they had almost identical interests – interests that eventually led Mathews to agree to publish a collection of the rather idiosyncratic but charming writings of W. Paul Cook, a Vermont-born author who in the 1930s spent the most productive years of his life in North Montpelier.
One of those shared interests was in the science fiction and fantasy writings of a once-famous Rhode Island author named H. P. Lovecraft. And it was through their knowledge of Lovecraft that they also knew that both Cook and Lovecraft were major figures in the early days of an unusual hobby known as amateur journalism. What surprised Donnelly – himself a recent recruit to amateur journalism – that day at lunch was the discovery that Hawes, though a professional, was also one of the few still heavily engaged in that hobby.
"Probably one of my first thoughts after meeting Leland was: 'So there really are such people as amateur journalists,'" Donnelly remembers. "To me the hobby was a historical curiosity of the 1930s and before. It was surprising to learn that the hobby is still going strong and promoted enthusiastically by members like Leland."
Hawes, who has pursued the hobby since he was 12 (he printed his own neighborhood newspaper, complete with advertisements that he later learned were paid for by a relative), still publishes, at sporadic intervals, two private journals that he shares with friends and fellow hobbyists. Donnelly also has his own private journal, but unlike Hawes he utilizes modern printing technology.
"I was totally impressed with his obvious intellect, the broad range of his reading interests and his ability to express himself so articulately," Hawes recalls from that first encounter. "We have a lot of interests in common and we've become good friends."
Cook may be very much a part of Vermont's literary tradition, but neither Donnelly nor Hawes have any ties to the state. Donnelly admits to only the faintest memories of early family vacations to the Bennington area, and the otherwise well-traveled Hawes confesses to never having set foot in the Green Mountain state. Their book was produced not because of any fondness for or familiarity with Vermont; it was published for the most part with other amateur journalists and fans of Lovecraft as the target readers.
So, this is the story of how exactly their project came into being. Their book is titled "Willis T. Crossman's Vermont: Stories by W. Paul Cook." (Cook used Crossman as his pen name when these stories were first published.)
After that initial luncheon meeting, Donnelly and Hawes began an almost-daily exchange of e-mails and other correspondence, and they met weekly for lunch or dinner. They also spent many an evening in the special collections department of the University of South Florida library, searching for references to Cook or to his work.
"We each read the Crossman pieces and agreed 90 percent of the time about which ones to include in the book," Donnelly relates. "We both worked to gather the information, but I wrote the introduction. Leland read it several times and made helpful suggestions. And, yes, we were a good working team. Not a cross word was ever uttered."
Cook's writings are not quite prose and not quite poetry, at least in pure form, and even at the peak of his career he neither sought nor attained widespread literary fame. But within his own relatively small circle, one dominated by other men who indulged in amateur journalism, Cook was a highly respected figure. In fact, if you were to "Google" Cook's name on the Internet, the first citation would be of Cook's book about his literary hero, "In Memoriam: Howard Philips Lovecraft."
"Originally written in 1940, this work by W. Paul Cook, who was a close amateur journalism associate of Lovecraft's, is one of the finest memoirs ever to be written," the unsigned Google entry comments. "Filled with amusing and thought-provoking anecdotes, it helps create a portrait of Lovecraft which shows him to be a normal human being who possessed great literary talents."
Lovecraft, incidentally, was not universally admired. One famous critic, Edmund Wilson, described his writings as "bad taste and bad art" while another, Colin Wilson, said Lovecraft was a neurotic. Yet long after his death in 1937, the controversial author developed a loyal following among fans of science fiction and fantasy literature.
If Cook's literary reputation is virtually non-existent today – except among amateur journalists – it is largely because when he was writing his stories he had no intention of making money by doing so. In fact in his earlier years, he had once published a magazine with the motto "For Love Only, Not For Sale." Primarily, he saw himself as a printer and a hobbyist, not an entrepreneur.
"Throughout his life he showed little inclination to profit from what he wrote and published," Donnelly comments in the new book's introduction. "The Crossman books and pamphlets, set in type and printed by his own hands, impress one, above all else, as labors of love." That love, Donnelly adds, was for "his native Vermont's history, her land, and especially her people."
And, appropriately, it is their deep love of printing and writing, rather than any dreams of profit, that drew Donnelly and Hawes to the Cook project. In fact, the printing order for the book they've edited will be determined by the public's demand for it, and it's difficult to predict how large that will be. Modern technology enables the publisher to print just enough copies to fill orders and avoid accumulating a roomful of unsold books.
"Amateur journalism came into being after the Civil War, when small, cheap printing presses were developed, and young boys, primarily, used them to start their own little newspapers or home printing businesses," Hawes explains. "They charged minimal amounts at first, circulating them locally, but then organized into 'associations' and exchanged copies with each other."
Hawes says that the associations held conventions and members were serious enough that they sometimes had "hard-fought political battles" for their elected offices.
"In the early 20th century, the hobby ebbed and flowed, reaching a literary zenith under the influence of H. P. Lovecraft and W. Paul Cook in the 1915-1925 period," Hawes continues. "In the 1930s, a new resurgence of youth brought a mix of fine printing with quality material as well as crude leaflets produced on small hand-presses and mimeographs."
Today, he notes, there are fewer than 500 hobby printers in the United States and Canada. Membership in their associations is dwindling because, like him, most of the hobbyists are in their 60s or older. Only a handful of teens are involved, and Hawes speculates that's because federal safety rules eliminated the motorized printing presses that had intrigued so many boys in America's classrooms in the past. There's been a revolution in printing in the past few decades, and the art of hand-setting type is being lost.
"The era when someone like Cook could sit at a Linotype machine and turn out type for a massive journal is long gone," he observes.
Cook was born in 1880 in Mount Tabor, Vt. His mother died giving birth and his father, George, presumably felt that taking care of his new son was beyond his capabilities, so the child was raised by George's brother, William, and his wife, Alma LaBounty.
Their research, which provides the basis for his detailed introduction to the book, revealed to Donnelly and Hawes that Cook had spent his youth in both Vermont and New Hampshire and was intrigued by journalism at an early age, perhaps because another uncle was a printer. Cook wrote for the West Rutland Grade School's The Epoch and co-founded and edited The Red and Black, the student newspaper at Stevens High School in Claremont, N.H., while he lived in nearby Hanover. His involvement in amateur journalism began in 1901 when he joined the United Amateur Press Association, which had been founded six years earlier. That same year, Donnelly relates, Cook published his first edition of Monadnock Monthly, a literary magazine that brought him almost-instant celebrity status among amateur journalists. Later he also joined the older National Amateur Press Association.
"The amateur spirit is a very genuine thing, but quite unanalyzable," Cook wrote at the time. "A recruit either has it and recognizes in amateur journalism his rightful home, or he lacks it and quickly passes out."
Also while living in Hanover, where he studied English literature at Dartmouth and worked for the Dartmouth Press, Cook continued to publish the Monadnock Monthly. But in 1906, he began to drift around the country, finding work here and there as a printer. According to Donnelly, he may even have traveled as far as England and Jamaica before he returned to New England in 1910. It was then that he met his future wife, Adeline Emmeline Smith, who owned the boarding house where Cook lived in Danvers, Conn.
They married in 1912 and the next year moved to Athol, Mass., a place that Cook described as "absolutely devoid of historical, architectural, scenic, archeological, or sentimental interest." And yet, Donnelly notes, it was the move to these drab surroundings that "marked the beginning of the most settled and productive period of his life."
Taking a job at the local daily newspaper as professional journalist, Cook made enough money to buy his first home and add many books to his collection. And, as the introduction to this new book notes, Cook was able to use the newspaper's equipment to print "more and larger amateur journals for himself and his fellow hobbyists." Donnelly writes that Cook's own journal for that period – he called it The Vagrant – "remains one of the most substantial contributions ever made toward promoting a high literary standard for amateur journalism."
It was during this period that Cook befriended Lovecraft. After their first meeting, in 1917, the Rhode Island author wrote to another friend: "I was rather surprised at his appearance, for he is rather more rustic & carelessly groomed than I had expected [with an] antique derby hat, unpressed garments, frayed cravat, yellowish collar, ill-brushed hair, & none too immaculate hands … [But] Cook's conversation makes up for whatever outward deficiencies he may possess."
The two writers began taking sightseeing tours, traveling from Brattleboro to Providence and paying special attention to such coastal communities as Marblehead, Mass., and Newport, R.I. They were taking note of 18th century architecture and looking for Old Farmer's Almanacs and traces of their New England roots. That quest naturally took them to old cemeteries, and it was on their headstones that Cook apparently found inspiration for many of the unusual names he would use for characters in his later Vermont tales.
(Cook insisted he found it unnecessary to invent names out of thin air, "and I question if a name can be invented that has not really been used." His names were certainly colorful and seem unique. In one of his brief narratives, for instance, he came up with "Willingly Woodbury" as the name for an undertaker. But despite such imaginative efforts, he said, "I expect any day to hear from someone bearing one of my synthetic appellations.")
By 1927, when he was still living in Athol, Cook realized he really wanted to publish books and magazines of higher quality, so he founded The Recluse Press and a magazine called The Recluse. The most notable feature of the only issue was the first printing of Lovecraft's highly esteemed "Supernatural Horror in Literature." The magazine's cover featured an illustration by Vrest Orton, who in 1946 would establish the Vermont Country Store. The magazine also featured an article about "Early Vermont Minstrelsy" by a Walter John Coates, a Universalist minister.
Later, Coates would play a major role in Cook's life. He was the editor of Driftwind magazine and the owner of The Driftwind Press, which he published from his general store in North Montpelier. Coates and Cook met sometime in the 1920s and spent time together at Coates's home in North Calais. Also present at these gatherings was Orton, whom Cook described as "one of my dearest friends. … I envy him his energy and his resurgent power to dream and make his dreams come true."
In time, Cook would wind up working at the Driftwind Press, essentially a commercial enterprise, but initially his Recluse Press was busy cranking out volumes of poetry by friends whose talents he admired, including Arthur H. Goodenough of Brattleboro, and a book by Coates. But Cook's wife of 16 years, Adeline, died in 1929 after a long illness, and his life was turned upside down.
"I suddenly found myself struck down from a comfortable condition of life with an income of about $5,000 to a grade of no income and in debt about $1,000," he wrote to a friend. "I have discarded everything; have given away or thrown away everything, including my job, my real estate, my household furnishings, my library."
Depressed, Cook moved around New England, living for a time in Boston, then in Sunapee, N.H. (where his sister, Cora, lived), in East St. Louis, Ill., and with Coates in North Montpelier. Coates gave Cook a chance to work as a printer, choosing his own pace and his own projects. And it was about this time that Cook introduced his penname 'Willis T. Crossman' as a poet and began writing the passages that so intrigued Donnelly and Hawes. As Donnelly notes, it was in the early 1930s that "Crossman became the mouthpiece of Cook's anger and speculations" as he expressed his dismay with the effects of the Great Depression and began to question his own beliefs. His political views were left of center and he did not care for organized religion, although he had spiritual leanings and a belief in "something greater."
But the Crossman volumes weren't enough. Cook needed to earn a living and there is evidence, in his letters to friends, that he sought jobs in Boston and New York City before taking a job as associate publisher of a newspaper owned by a fellow amateur journalist in Illinois in 1936. But by October of the following year, he was back in New England, although it's not clear why he had moved again. Donnelly notes that Cook was depressed by the unexpected death of his friend Lovecraft at the age of 46.
Once again, Cook turned to Coates and North Montpelier. It was then that Crossman really blossomed as a Vermont storyteller. The Driftwind Press published two volumes of his tales in 1938 and 1939; some of them had originally been published in the Driftwind magazine and in The Rutland Herald, but most were previously unpublished.
As Donnelly notes, the Crossman stories "don't even look like stories at first glance. With their short broken lines and stanza arrangements they appear to be verse. But they are really prose pieces set in creative typography. Cook's innovation had a practical purpose: to make brief texts more substantial on the printed page."
And he had another "more subtle" purpose, Donnelly observes: To provide visual clues for the reader "like what to emphasize, where to pause. … They suggest unobtrusively how best to read them."
For the remainder of his life Cook divided his time between his sister's home in New Hampshire and the North Montpelier print shop. He was busy. During this period, he produced his most notable work, the aforementioned appreciation of Lovecraft. In 1941, Coates suffered a fatal heart attack, and Cook agreed to stay on as foreman and business manager at the Driftwood Press.
"I am busier than a guy my age ought to be," Cook wrote to a friend in 1946. "At the present moment I have five books on hand beside the regular monthly magazine, and haven't the time I would like for my own little amusements." However, he did find time to publish five issues of his own amateur journal, The Ghost. Donnelly describes the journal's name as "revealing" in that its contents "lean heavily toward his abiding interest in supernatural literature."
Although the five books Cook mentioned were Driftwood Press projects – as opposed to his own literary creations – and are not especially valuable today, Donnelly points out they are difficult to obtain. Cook himself published one hardcover and one paperback Crossman book during this period, plus a dozen Crossman pamphlets. His unfinished volume on Lovecraft ("The Shunned House") sells for $6,000 or more, Donnelly notes.
In 1947, Cook took ill and on Jan. 22, 1948, he died. Later, his sister wrote: "I feel that he was happy there at No. Montpelier as he was practically his own boss and had a chance to do a great deal of writing." And Donnelly speculates that perhaps he finally found happiness in these last years.
Donnelly and Hawes hope that, besides appealing to hobby printers and Lovecraft admirers, their book will introduce Cook's writings to a New England audience that may never have heard of him and restore him to what they believe is his rightful place in the pantheon of regional authors.
"What his exact place may be is not for us to say," Donnelly says. "His fellow New Englanders will judge best."
Editor's note: The book will be available through the University of Tampa Press and will be printed on an as-ordered basis. Orders can be placed online at www.booksurge.com, and bookstores can obtain copies through distributors (Baker & Taylor and Ingram). Donnelly said the price has yet to be determined.
A.C. Hutchison was editor of the Times Argus before he retired several years ago. He lives in Inverness, Fla.
W. Paul Cook writings
Fulfillment
Zabdiel Morton kept the general store
In Worcester.
He was a much respected but cordially hated man,
Who had been the only one to profit
By the gold mines on Minister Brook—
And his gains did not come
From digging or washing gold.
He was an absolutely honest man,
So honest that he leaned backward,
Paid every cent that he owned on the dot,
And expected the same from others.
Never was known to give a half-ounce
Over or under weight—in fact,
Never was known to give anything
Or to cheat anyone.
He is the one of whom it is told
That he would bite a chocolate in two
To get exact weight—
But you always got your half of the chocolate.
He represented the town in the Legislature,
And held all responsible offices.
A hard man—too hard, too just, to be popular.
Pity the poor soul who owed him money,
As many inevitably did.
Worcester is the town, you will remember,
Where the graveyard was partly washed out
In the flood, and where,
According to Dorman Kent's graphic description,
"Dead bodies were left hanging in trees
And strewed carelessly about."
If there are those living
Who remember Zabdiel Morton,
Doubtless they hope
His was one of the "dead bodies."
Chauncey Coffein would be especially tickled
If he could see Zabdiel in this predicament.
Chauncey was by no means indigent,
Having in his later life accumulated a competence
On his stock farm In the shade of Hunger Mountain,
But in his younger days he had gotten himself
Into Zabdiel's clutches by means of credit,
And suffered considerable anxiety
Before he was freed.
Chauncey never forgot it.
On the morning of Zabdiel's funeral
Pardon Vance drove into the Coffein yard.
"Going to the funeral, Chauncey?" he asked. '
"Huh!" said Chauncey, "I should say I am!
Been waiting for the chance
For thirty years!"
Solid
I have been warned
To avoid Essex Junction.
It seems that Ed Phelps,
In a burst of impatience,
Or cantankerousness,
Was quite harsh about the place
Some years ago,
Since which time it is taboo—
To a writer—
Though still talked about.
Personally, I see no reason
Why Essex Junction
Should be exploited
And White River Junction
Slighted.
Five hours is the most
I have been kept waiting
At the former place,
While at the latter
I was stalled for twenty-four
Trying to get home
One Christmas.
Why should the western part
Of the state
Get all the desirable
Publicity
At the expense of the eastern?
However that may be,
The tall tales
Are all about Essex.
We are told
That a hotel was built
Near the station
Expressly to accommodate
Those stuck there over night,
And that a cemetery
Was laid out Handy to the depot
For the final resting place
Of those who died
Before their trains came in.
If you don't believe these stories,
You are told to
Go and see the hotel
And the cemetery.
The following
You will have to take
On faith.
I got it from an old codger
Whom I wouldn't believe
On a stack of Acts of the General Assembly,
But who said he got it
From the conductor
Of the train in question.
For proof,
He said the conductor
Had confiscated the pitcher
And had shown it to him.
It seems this train
Pulled into Essex Junction
An hour before expected
One morning—
(It was yesterday's train.)
This was in the middle of winter,
And everybody in the hose!
Was keeping under the covers
As long as possible.
The tooting of the whistle
And the ringing of the bell
Caused much ado,
But everyone was routed out
And sent hastening to the train.
Apparently all were aboard,
And the conductor was about
To cry out the fact,
When a disheveled gentleman,
With most of his outer garments
Over one arm,
And carrying a bedroom pitcher
In the other hand,
Emerged from the hotel
And dashed for the depot.
He made the grade,
And the conductor
Helped him up the steps
And inside. "Didn't you have time to wash?"
Asked the conductor,
Glancing at the pitcher.
The passenger gesticulated excitedly
And indignantly,
Mumbled and mouthed
Incoherently,
And the conductor finally made out:
"My—my—teeth,
Frozen in that pitcher."
Colder
To anyone who looked over the situation,
It was a profound mystery
How Jedediah Jeffards had managed to exist,
To say nothing of accumulating a balance,
On that small and none too productive farm
Underneath Bird Mountain in Ira.
But neighbors said he always lived well,
Was a good provider;
And when he died,
His wife, Julana, owned the place free and clear,
And had a substantial balance in a safe bank
(If there is any such thing.)
Julana looked over the few poor acres
Which had sapped Jedediah's vitality
And sent him to an early grave, at sixty-five,
And a sudden anger flamed in her head –
She could not bear the sight of the place.
With all haste she moved her household chattels
Into a rented house in West Rutland,
Sold the place in Ira for a song—
But all it was really worth—
And looked around for a home
In which to end her days.
Her only living relative was a sister
Living in the Tice neighborhood in Holland.
Julana went up there,
Stayed with her sister for a time,
And looked over the vicinity.
Apparently the nearest place she could buy
To advantage
Was an attractive little farm in Norton,
Which suited her to a T.
With one hired man the place could be made
Not only self-supporting,
But possibly even profitable.
Julana planked down a payment
And waited for the deeds.
Whereupon a snag was struck.
Titles to land were exceedingly doubtful
Since the burning of the town charter
Early in the last century,
And the place Julana wanted
Was so near the Canada line
That it was necessary
To call an international commission
To definitely settle the question and mark the line
So hazy were records and surveys
That Canada claimed all of Julana's purchase.
After an interminable delay,
The bringing into play of the diplomatic resources
Of two great nations,
The employment of technical experts,
And an unholy expenditure of money,
It was finally decided that Julana's farm
Lay entirely within the boundaries
Of the United States and of Vermont.
Julana sighed with relief.
"I am so glad my place is in the United States,
She said,
"It is just what I want,
And they do say
The winters in Canada are awful cold."
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050109/NEWS/501090302/1013&template
Lovecraft's Friend: Arthur Goodenough



“Songs of Four Decades” by Arthur H. Goodenough, published by W. Paul Cook/The Recluse Press (Athol, Massachusetts) in 1927, 5.75” x 8.5” hardcover (red cloth on boards with paper title plates on the cover and spine), no dust jacket, 160 pages.
W. Paul Cook, a writer who used the pen name Willis T. Crossman, was an amateur journalist and a companion of H.P. Lovecraft (he wrote a memorial volume on Lovecraft in 1940). He moved to Athol in 1912 and went to work for a local newspaper, whose presses he used to print assorted journals and books by himself and acquaintances. Cook founded the Recluse Press in 1926 (his most notable publication was a single issue of a magazine that published Lovecraft’s “"Supernatural Horror in Literature”).
Click this link to read an article on W. Paul Cook that appeared in the Barre Montpelier Times Argus.
Goodenough was a Brattleboro, Vermont, poet. The poems previously appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal, Boston Ideas, the Boston Daily Post, the Brattleboro Reformer, the New England Homestead, and other publications.
Condition is very good: clean contents, scattered minor foxing, tight binding, firm hinges, owner's name (Malcolm M. Goodenough, dated 1961) on the front free endpaper.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Lovecraft's Sexuality: Part Two
The query here is that while Lovecraft was clearly (in my opionon) heterosexual, he seemed not to have passion or want sex like many people do. Even in his day, with Victorian mores (or Edwardian mores) people did have sex drives. The Hollywood tanloids of the 20's and 30's clearly show that people cared deeply about their sexuality and their urges. They were not quite as explicit as the swinging 60's or the Me Decade, but they did have deep energies.
I found the information at www.asexuality.org of interest in thinking about Lovecraft's behavior.
An asexual is someone who does not experience sexual attraction. Unlike celibacy, which people choose, asexuality is an intrinsic part of who we are. Asexuality does not make our lives any worse or any better, we just face a different set of challenges than most sexual people. There is considerable diversity among the asexual community, each asexual person experiences things like relationships, attraction, and arousal somewhat differently.
Asexual people have the same emotional needs as anyone else, and like in the sexual community we vary widely in how we fulfill those needs. Some asexual people are happier on their own, others are happiest with a group of close friends.
{Lovecraft loved to be surrounded by people, and he keenly felt Noblesse Oblige. - CP}
Other asexual people have a desire to form more intimate romantic relationships, and will date and seek long-term partnerships. Asexual people are just as likely to date sexual people as we are to date each other. Sexual or nonsexual, all relationships are made up of the same basic stuff. Communication, closeness, fun, humor, excitement and trust all happen just as much in sexual relationships as in nonsexual ones.
Unlike sexual people, asexual people are given few expectations about the way that our intimate relationships will work. Figuring out how to flirt, to be intimate, or to be monogamous in a nonsexual relationships can be challenging, but free of sexual expectations we can form relationships in ways that are grounded in our individual needs and desires.
Many asexual people experience attraction, but we feel no need to act out that attraction sexually. Instead we feel a desire to get to know someone, to get close to them in whatever way works best for us.
For Lovecraft, correspondence was his fulfillment. He spent every cent he had on postage, and at the end of his life he was doing more correspondence than at the begiining of his career. He would write dozens of pages. He needed people, and his letters were frequently obliging and clever to draw out details about a person's interests. - CP
Asexual people who experience attraction will often be attracted to a particular gender, and will identify as gay, bi, or straight. For some sexual arousal is a fairly regular occurrence, though it is not associated with a desire to find a sexual partner or partners. Other asexual people experience little or no arousal. Because we don’t care about sex, asexual people generally do not see a lack of sexual arousal as a problem to be corrected, and focus their energy on enjoying other types of arousal and pleasure.
There is no litmus test to determine if someone is asexual. Asexuality is like any other identity- at its core, it’s just a word that people use to help figure themselves out. If at any point someone finds the word asexual useful to describe themselves, we encourage them to use it for as long as it makes sense to do so.
So, this is an iussue that has never been raised to my knowledge about Lovecraft. It may or may not be relevant, but considering his stories are nihilistic, materialist, absent of females, absent of strong characterization, and lacking any sexuality to speak of, then we have to wonder about his psyche.
However, we can also detect a bit of selfishness and self-centeredness. There is considerable autobiography in his stories - and letters. He has a fetish about presenting himself as not only antiquarian, but OLD.
Asexuality may be a strong motivating factor in his poetry, fiction, and correspondence.
Lovecraft's Sexuality: Part One
Many others have spoken on this, but mostly from either a homosexual or heterosexual point of view. Robert Barlow was fond of HPL, but there seemed to be no sexual attraction, and this seems consistent with other homosexuals. To put it flippantly, and in a modern way, their "Gaydar" didn't go off. Women were often attracted to HPL, and he seemed especially fond of older women from time to time. Emphasis on fond. He never remarried, nor seemingly did he care for it. He spent a lot of time with his pals, and when Sonia split, he was not overly burdened by it. He missed Providence more than Sonia, though forgive me if that is a bit harsh.
Here is today's column. When I read it, I thought that Sonia might have written it.
***
Annie's Mailbox®, December 29, 2007
Dear Annie: Like "Craving Intimacy in Indiana," I am married to a man who shows no interest in sex. It's been years since we were intimate, and before that, sex was infrequent. We have been married for 35 years. After I threatened divorce, he went to a doctor and was given medicine to treat his low testosterone, but he refuses to take it.
I also feel unattractive, unwanted and unloved. I also know other men find me attractive, but I don't want an affair. I am turning into a bitter woman. I have not filed for divorce because I worry what our grown children would say and I don't want to give up the financial security my husband and I have worked for. No one in our community or family has any idea.
How do I find a counselor or therapist? I live in a rural area, and everyone knows everyone's business. I don't want to become known as the horny old woman down the road. — Me, Too
Dear Me, Too: It helps if your husband is willing to work on the marriage, too, but either way, you can find the name of a therapist near you through the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy locator service (therapistlocator.net) or by writing them at 112 South Alfred St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Some therapists are willing to do sessions over the phone or online. Here's more on the subject:
Wisconsin: "Craving Intimacy" felt it was her problem. It is not. It is 100 percent his. My husband and I hold hands, kiss and love each other without question, but it has been six years since he has touched me in a sexual way. Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with low testosterone, but he refused treatment. He is now 46 and has been getting more and more depressed and refuses help. My husband is a wonderful man and has always been there for me, so I can deal with the lack of sex. Yes, I love him that much.
Quebec: I think her husband is asexual, meaning he has no interest in sex.
Asexuality is a largely unrecognized orientation, but it does exist. About 1 percent of the population is asexual. Asexuals are capable of love and emotional intimacy, but the sexual attraction is not there. Many people are asexual and don't realize it. For more information, go to www.asexuality.org.
Chicago: Her husband is almost certainly gay. I was best man at my friend's wedding years ago, and his marriage turned out to be almost identical to "Craving's." He finally came out of the closet and his wife divorced him. But by that time, her self-esteem had been destroyed and she really has never recovered.
Southern California: I lived with this scenario for years, questioned my attractiveness and sensuality and received the same response from my husband. We went to counseling several times where he claimed "work-related stress." Well, surprise! He was having an affair at work and had been having affairs throughout our 28-year marriage. Annie, do your married female writers a bittersweet favor and tell them that married men are having sex outside of marriage in record numbers and the guilt can prevent them from having sex with the wife even if they want to. Finding out the truth is unimaginably painful, but it beats the constant toll on the feminine self-esteem. I could kick myself for being so trusting.
Wisconsin: I am 41, attractive, smart and talented and have a sexless marriage. My husband has been tested for testosterone levels and they are on the low side, but not low enough to prompt pharmaceutical intervention. Instead, the doctor prescribed Viagra — of no use if the desire is missing.
Texas: And I thought it was just us. I've asked my husband to go to counseling and get his testosterone checked. Neither has happened. It's sad and lonely. Sometimes I think it's just a matter of "whoever dies first wins."
Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, P.O. Box 118190, Chicago, IL 60611. To find out more about Annie's Mailbox, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
H.P. LOVECRAFT: FOUR DECADES OF CRITICISM edited by S.T. Joshi (Signed by Robert Bloch)

Ohio State University Press
This anthology, spanning nearly forty years of criticism, embodies the wide range of opinions evoked by the writings of Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Originally published in pulp magazines, which in the early part of this century were the only market for fantasy fiction, H.P. Lovecraft’s works were not recognized by the literary world in his lifetime. After Lovecraft’s death, associates and fans published his work in book form, thus beginning his slow rise from obscurity. Since that time, critical acceptance of Lovecraft’s works has fluctuated greatly, from those who feel that his work is juvenile and undeserving of serious study to those who consider him to be another Poe.
In addition to representing the ambivalent critical responses to Lovecraft’s writings, this volume also examines the literary influences that affected him, his poetry and essays, his work as a regional and local-color writer, and the evolution of his vast pseudo-mythology in both his writings and the writings of others, as well as his reactions to the political and economic development of his time.
Above all, this volume is designed to present Lovecraft to the academic world which has virtually ignored him for forty years, capping his metamorphosis from a forgotten pulp writer to a brilliant fantaisiste with a worldwide following.
Contents
Preface by S.T. Joshi
H.P. Lovecraft: His Life and Work Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. and S.T. Joshi
Lovecraft Criticism: A Study S.T. Joshi
A Chronology of Selected Works by H.P. Lovecraft S.T. Joshi
H.P. Lovecraft: An Appreciation T. O. Mabbott
Tales of the Marvellous and the Ridiculous Edmund Wilson
A Literary Copernicus Fritz Leiber, Jr.
From The Supernatural in Fiction Peter Penzoldt
The Cthulhu Mythos: A Study George T. Wetzel
Some Notes on Cthulhuian Pseudobiblia Edward Lauterbach
H.P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker Dirk W. Mosig
On the Literary Influences Which Shaped Lovecraft’s Works J. Vernon Shea
Through Hyperspace with Brown Jenkin: Lovecraft’s Contribution to Speculative Fiction Fritz Leiber, Jr.
The Influence of Vathek on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath Peter Cannon
Poe and Lovecraft Robert Bloch
H.P. Lovecraft in Hawthornian Perspective Peter Cannon
Facts in the Case of H.P. Lovecraft Barton L. St. Armand
"The White Ship": A Psychological Odyssey Dirk W. Mosig
Lovecraft and the Cosmic Quality in Fiction Richard L. Tierney
Dystopia as Utopia: Howard Phillips Lovecraft and the Unknown Content of American Horror Literature Paul Buhle
A Parenthesis on Lovecraft as Poet Winfield Townley Scott
A Lovecraftian Nightmare R. Boerem
The Continuity of the Fungi from Yuggoth R. Boerem
To Howard Phillips Lovecraft Clark Ashton Smith
Friday, December 28, 2007
Rare Item: The Ghost (W Paul Cook)


P Schuyler Miller

T Peter Park's recollection of 1958 Fresco Seminar Booklet
{The mention of Bright's disease by Keller clears up a big mystery for me. Sam Moskowitz, in a preface of an anthology, mentioned this and I never knew where the idea came from. - CP}
Lovecraft's Legacy (1966)
I think I've covered virtually every year since HPL's death on his "Legacy" now and it shows the trajectory that occurred in fandom. Derleth was behind much of it. His hand is often seen in anthology inclusions of HPL's work. The fanzines are a different trajectory, but they always intersect with "mainstream" HPL work that Derleth and Arkham initiated. Certainly Carter and Leiber and de Camp and others worked independently with their own energy and passion to preserve HPL's legacy.
Donald Wolheim, Duane Rimel, Stuart David Schiff, Jack L Chalker, Sam Moskowitz, and so many others also - at one time or other - took turns promoting HPL through the fan magazine approach. I've included many examples through the years of these fanzines as they leave one collector's hand and move to another, to be unseen for many more years.


Thursday, December 27, 2007
Mirage #9 1970

Lovecraft's Legacy (1975) Collection to that date.

Lovecraft's Legacy (England 1952)

Lovecraft's Legacy (1945) Derleth's Memoir


Lovecraft's Legacy (1958) Symposium


Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Frank Belknap Long (1926)


HERE is a LEGENDARY title in the flesh & SIGNED !!
"He stood by the river and whistled through his hands
And ibises from Egypt filled the morning lands;
They circled in the air,and their wings caught the sun
And they turned gold and crimson ere his song was done.
II knew he was a prophet,and I swore by my hat
To place on Hathor's altar a yellow tiger-cat:
But then he somehow heard me,and though I tried to fly
He turned and cursed,and I became-a shadow on the sky ! "
Sounds a bit like H.P.Lovecraft's NYARLARTHOTEP !
HERE is the Cthulhu Mythos author in his first rare work !
Lovecraft's Legacy (1957) Derleth's The Murky Glass

A “Different” Science-Fantasy Novelette
Eight Fantastic Short Stories
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas from H P Lovecraft

Lovecraft, H[oward] P[hillips]. CHRISTMAS CARD, signed "HP" [in monogram style] and dated 1934 in Roman numerals by Lovecraft. Stiff card, 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, printed on recto only, four color printing, probably chromolithography. With envelope addressed to Robert H. Barlow, postmarked 17 December 1934. The card illustrates a ninteenth-century New England winter scene. The card was printed in duotone (black and gold) and then hand-tinted. Fine. (#109146) Price: $550.00
Monday, December 24, 2007
Fritz Leiber, Senior

Saturday, December 22, 2007
2nd Copy of rare Muriel Eddy Memoir surfaces


Lovecraft was 10 at the turn of the century



Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Gleanings: Lovecraft on a wrong Roman legend
"The Sign of the Cross" {Paramount 1932 Cecil B DeMille} was quite a spectacle, even though it gives a sadly one-sided picture of Roman Life - leaving out the sober, normal citizenry altogether. In the arena scenes I noted the persitent error which has haunted folklore for many generations - namely, that downturned thumbs were the signal for the killing of a conquered opponent. How this common mistake ever gained currency I'm hanged if I know, but it seems very deep seated. Actually, upturned thumbs formed the death signal, while waved handkerchiefs were the signal for mercy.
Lovecraft's Legacy: 1941 (Famous Fantastic Mysteries)

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Gleanings: 1932 October 30

Lovecraft's Legacy: Rare Acolyte (1945)

Alas, this is not one of the world's great copies. It is stable rather than good. It was brittle at the edges and has been repaired with non-yellowing tape to arrest chipping. The last page is particularly affected. At one point a chip reaches into the text and damages two words (which from context are obviously "of the"). Laney used poor quality paper, which doubtless makes this magazine even rarer, because few copies have survived. The pages are actually quite supple. This is good enough to xerox from, as long as you are careful not to crease it.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Songs of Four Decades: Arthur Goodenough



"Land of Allen And Other Verse" by Walter John Coates.
Rare Recluse Press
"Land of Allen And Other Verse" by Walter John Coates. Published by W. Paul Cook. The Recluse Press MCMXXVIII (1928). W. Paul Cook (1880-1948) is best known as a friend and publisher of H. P. Lovecraft.Cook was an important member of the Lovecraft Inner Circle. In 1928 W.Paul Cook printed approximately 250 unbound sets of Lovecrafts "The Shunned House" for The Recluse Press.However, the sheets were not bound at that time. Approximately 150 sets of unbound sheets eventually found their way into the possession of Arkham House in 1959 where they were offered for sale in an unbound state. About 50 copies were sold in that state. The remaining 100 copies were bound by Arkham House and offered for sale in 1961. Cook also printed Donald Wandrei "Ecstasy & Other Poems" (The Recluse Press, 1928 Ltd to 322 copies.) The Recluse Press only lasted from 1925-1929.
Walter John Coates was born near Lowville, NY, on November 9, 1880. He died of a heart attack on July 29, 1941, aged sixty. Coates was a Universalist minister, storekeeper, poet, printer and bibliographer. W. Paul Cook was a close family friend. The Vermont Historical Society published his Bibliography of Vermont Poetry and has a Coates collection.
Book is in very good condition, nice tight bindings.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
August Derleth to Donald Wandrei (1945)


Recluse Press (1926)
Read the notes by the seller: With a preface by Samuel Loveman.The Recluse Press,1926.FIRST EDITION/FIRST PRINTING.HARDCOVER.Penned name of former owner in the blank front end page.@" X 2" chip to top right area of the blank back end page.Pastedown title on front board.LIGHT rubbing to board tips.SOLID & CLEAN,BRIGHT & CRISP.GOOD +. 31 pages.SIGNED BY FRANK BELKNAP LONG.LONG'S FIRST PUBLISHED WORK.Twenty poems including one on reading Arthur Machen. LIMITED PRINTING OF 315 copies released ! The Recluse Press' First Title !
HERE is a LEGENDARY title in the flesh & SIGNED !!
.........THE PROPHET.....
"He stood by the river and whistled through his hands
And ibises from Egypt filled the morning lands;
They circled in the air,and their wings caught the sun
And they turned gold and crimson ere his song was done.
II knew he was a prophet,and I swore by my hat
To place on Hathor's altar a yellow tiger-cat:
But then he somehow heard me,and though I tried to fly
He turned and cursed,and I became-a shadow on
the sky ! "
Sounds a bit like H.P.Lovecraft's NYARLARTHOTEP !
HERE is the Cthulhu Mythos author in his first rare work !
Gleanings: A New Feature
***
O Fortunate Floridian is the correspondence of Lovecraft and Barlow (2007). In 1931 (p.12) HPL is still calling him "Mr. Baelow" as Lovecraft did. Once he got a feel for the personality, he became loose and used jive talk in his letters. He began to spin his letters to the ear of the reader-correspondent.
In this case, Barlow must have mentioned he had rabbits (his letter is not extant). Now aged 40, Lovecraft is still (in his mind) the scientist-adventurist. His paradigm as a child were the Naturalists and scientists of Brown University whose careers matured in the late Victorian era. He followed with avid fascination adventurers who went to the North and South poles. He knew virtually all the latest reports out of Egypt's excavations and elsewhere.
"I was much interested in your rabbit information, for the phenomena described were wholly new to me. As a practical naturalist I lack observation & experience!"
Two things to note here. "Rabbit information" is that odd Lovecraftian construction. It's formal but at once probing. It is neutral, but open ended enough to let Barlow say more at a later date if he so chooses. No doubt, Lovecraft hadn't a care about rabbits, though he must have noticed as a child his grandfather telling him about the big jacks of Idaho as different from the eastern rabbits. He put that element in Colour Out of Space.
Lovecraft had observed cats all his life yet we really don't know if he was a casual observer or ig he intimately knew their anatomy and systems. For instance, he shows no sign of ever being an amateur cat veterinarian. His uncle was a doctor, but he never lets on that he saw or experiemented in anatomy.
Another oddity is that at this time he must have been insistent on mentioning his Erich Zann was out in Creeps by night. He mentions it 5 times in a few months of correspondence.
By October 1932 ( a year later) Lovecraft addresses him as "My dear Mr. barlow", and in November 1932 it becomes "my dear Barlow". By August 1933 he is signing with a backwards H P Lovecraft signature and "Yr most oblig'd, most obt Servt". This is a sure mark of deep affection. On August 21, 1933 he starts out "Esteemed Laureate" In September he addresses him by the appelate, "Dear Ar-E'ch-Bei" and signs "E'ch-Pi-El".
Friday, December 14, 2007
Interesting anecdote about Whispers

The Shunned House


By H.P. Lovecraft
Athol, Massachusetts W. Paul Cook - Recluse Press 1928.
First Edition of the Authors First Book.
Of the first edition of 300 sets of sheets printed, the book was not issued during Lovecrafts lifetime and a number of unbound sheets were damaged and unused, this is one of 50 sets of folded unbound sheets that Arkham House started selling in circa 1952 with an Arkham House copyright notice affixed to the copyright page.
Enclosed in a custom full morocco clamshell box.
A cornerstone Lovecraft piece!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Galleon 1935: Lovecraft Poem

Quest of Iranon: 1935 The Galleon

Lovecraft Studies: Index (partial)
{Started 8 September 2007} *** {edit 13 December 2007} ***{edit 16 July 2008}
[1-11]
*****
S.T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 12:
Lovecraft's Concept of "Background" by Stephen J. Mariconda
Some Repititions of the Times by H. P. Lovecraft
An Uncompromising Look at the Cthulhu Mythos by Will Murray
Disbelievers Ever by R. W. Sherman
Reviews
H.P. Lovecraft: At The Mountains of Madness and other novels reviewed by David E. Schultz
Chapbook format, mint; 8.5" x 7", 40 pages, Cover Art by Jason C. Eckhardt.
*****
S.T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 13:
Who Needs the "Cthulhu Mythos"? by David E. Schultz
In Search of Arkham Country by Will Murray
Correspondence between R. H. Barlow and Wilson Shephard of Oakman, Alabama Sept-Nov 1932 by H. P. Lovecraft
Lovecraft and Chiasmus, Chiasmus and Lovecraft by Donald R. Burleson
Reviews
Chapbook format, mint; 8.5" x 7", 40 pages, Cover Art by Jason C. Eckhardt.

[14, 15]
*****

Lovecraft Studies # 15
Date: Fall 1987 Cover price: $4.50Cover art by Jason C. Eckhardt
Published by Necronomicon Press, Vol 6, Number 2
Contents Mythos Names and How to Say Them - Robert M. Price
On the Emergence of "Cthulhu" - Steven J. Mariconda
At Lovecraft's Grave - Brett Rutherford
"The Terrible Old Man": A Deconstruction - Donald R. Burleson
Arkham and Kingsport - Peter Cannon
A Probable Source for the Drinking Song from "The Tomb" - Will Murray
Reviews: H.P. Lovecraft. Medusa and Other Poems, ed. S.T. Joshi Reviewed by Steven J. Mariconda
Clark Ashton Smith, Letters to H.P. Lovecraft. ed. Steve Behrends Reviewed by S.T. Joshi
*****
S.T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies, 16, Spring 1988. Necronomicon Press, 1988. 40 booklet of this nonfiction journal with studies on Lovecraft and his work with articles: “Randolph Carter: An Anti-Hero’s Quest” by Norman Gyford, “Two Biblical Curiosities in Lovecraft” by Robert M. Price, “Commercial Blurbs” by H. P. Lovecraft, “Did Lovecraft Revise THE FORBIDDEN ROOM? by Will Murray. other reviews, articles.
*****
S.T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 17:
Comments from the Publisher by Marc A. Michaud
Randolph Carter: An Anti-Hero's Quest (Part 2) by Norman Gayford
A Guide to the Lovecraft Fiction Manuscripts at the John Hay Library (Part 2) by S. T. Joshi
The Hands of H. P. Lovecraft by Robert H. Waugh
The Masks of Nothing by Eduardo Haro Ibars
Facts in the Case of "The Disinterment" by Will Murray
Notes on Lovecraft's "The Bells": A Carillon by Donald R. Burleson
Review
Chapbook format, mint; 8.5" x 7", 36 pages, Cover Art by Jason C. Eckhardt.

*****
[18-30]
*****
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 31, "Dr. Margaret Murray and H. P. Lovecraft: The Witch-Cult in New England" by Robert H. Waugh; "Mirror, Mirror: Sylvia Plath's 'Mirror' and Lovecraft's 'The Outsider'" by Mollie Burleson; "'The Outsider' as an Homage to Poe" by Carl Buchanan; "Lovecraft and 'Ligeia'" by Robert M. Price; "Symbolism of Style in 'The Strange High House in the Mist'" by Cecelia Drewer; "Lovecraft and Adjectivitis: A Deconstructionist View" by Donald R. Burleson; and "Lovecraft's Aesthetic Development: From Classicism to Decadence" by S. T. Joshi.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 32, "'The Picture in the House': Images of Complicity" by Robert H. Waugh; "About 'The Whisperer in Darkness'" by Darrell Schweitzer; "Tightening the Coil: The Revision of 'The Whisperer in Darkness'" by Steven J. Mariconda; "'The Rats in the Walls': A Study in Pessimism" by Paul Montelone; "Lovecraft: Textual Keys" by Donald R. Burleson; as well as book reviews by Ben Indick, David E. Schultz, and Marc A. Michaud.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 33, "'Ex Oblivione': The Contemplative Lovecraft" by Paul Montelone; "The Thing: On the Doorstep" by Donald R. Burleson; "Where Was Foxfield?" by Will Murray (which sheds light on the major discovery of a new Lovecraftian fictional site); "The Genesis of 'The Shadow out of Time'" by S. T. Joshi; "On 'The Call of Cthulhu'" by Stefan Dziemianowicz; as well as reviews by Peter Cannon.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 34, "On At the Mountains of Madness: A Panel Discussion" by Peter Cannon, Jason C. Eckhardt, Steven J. Mariconda, and Hubert Van Calenbergh (from the 1995 NecronomiCon convention); "Overdetermination and Enigma in Alhazred's Cryptic Couplet" by Dan Clore; "'The Outsider,' the Terminal Climax, and Other Conclusions" by Robert H. Waugh; "A Textual Oddity in 'The Quest of Iranon'" by Donald R. Burleson; "The Vanity of Existence in 'The Shadow out of Time'" by Paul Montelone; and "Lovecraft in Brooklyn", a recently discovered memoir of Lovecraft by one of his oldest friends, Rheinhart Kleiner. Cover art by Jason C. Eckhardt.
[35]
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 36, "'The White Ship': A Schopenhauerian Odyssey" by Paul Montelone, "In Search of the Dread Ancestor: M. R. James' 'Count Magnus' and Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by Richard Ward, "The Revised Adolphe Danziger de Castro" by Chris Powell, part II of "Lovecraft and Keats Confront the 'Awful Rainbow'" by Robert H. Waugh, and a rare (and previously unreprinted) 1927 mainstream newspaper article, "A Talk with H. P. Lovecraft", by Howard Wolf. Cover art by Jason Eckhardt.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 37, cover art by Jason Eckhardt, $5.00More contributions to the serious study of H. P. Lovecraft. Features: "The World as Azathoth--and Nothing Besides" by Paul Montelone; "The Outsider, the Autodidact, and Other Professions" by Robert H. Waugh; "Lovecraft and the Whitman Memoir" by John Kipling Hitz; "Lovecraft's 'He'" by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr.; "Lovecraft and Interstitiality" by Donald R. Burleson; as well as reviews by Ben P. Indick and Scott David Briggs.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 38, cover art by Jason Eckhardt, $5.00Features: "Lovecraft and Buddhism: Some Similarities" by Esther Rochon; "A Note on Metaphor vs. Metonymy in 'The Dunwich Horror'" by Donald R. Burleson; "The Outsider, the Autodidact, and Other Professions" (part 2) by Robert H. Waugh; "H. P. Lovecraft and Charles Dickens: The Rats in Their Walls" by Mollie L. Burleson, as well as a review of some recent humorous titles by Peter Cannon.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 39, cover art by Jason Eckhardt, $5.00“Bonus” issue of this significant journal dedicated to the life and work of you-know-who. Featured articles are: “Arkham Country: In Rescue of the Lost Searchers” by Robert D. Marten; “A Warning to the World: The Deliberative Argument of At the Mountains of Madness” by David A. Oakes; “The Subway and the Shoggoths” by Robert H. Waugh; and “Sound Symbolism in Lovecraftian Neocognomina” by Dan Clore.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 40, cover art by Jason Eckhardt, $5.00Once again we embark on a look at Lovecraft and his work from a number of unique, and thought-provoking perspectives. Issue number 40 features: “Some Aspects of Narration in Lovecraft” by Dan Clore; “‘The Strange High House in the Mist’: Glowing Eyes and Prohibition of the Impossible” by Nicholaus Clements; “The Subway and the Shoggoth (part II)” by Robert H. Waugh; “Some Notes on ‘The Rats in the Walls’” by John Kipling Hitz; and “This is the Way the World Ends: Modernish in ‘The Hollow Men’ and Fungi from Yuggoth” by David A. Oakes.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 41, cover art by Jason Eckhardt, $5.00Another wonderful batch of serious pieces on Lovecraft, covering both his life and work. As well as including an index to Lovecraft Studies, issues 26-40, are the following essays: “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Scott Connors, “A Cosmos of One’s Own: Howard Phillips Lovecraft” by Hubert Lampo, “Lovecraft and the early Leiber” by Nicholaus Clements, “Naming the Nameless: Lovecraft’s Grammatology” by John P. Langan, as well as a review by Steven J. Mariconda of Lovecraft Remembered.
[42, 43]
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 44, cover art by Jason Eckhardt, a Necronomicon Press Trade Paperback, 120 pages, 5x8", $12.99Lovecraft Studies returns in grand fashion by way of a 120 page trade paperback chock-full of essays about, and by, HPL, as well as an obscure short tale by Irvin S. Cobb which 'manifestly influenced' 'The Rats in the Walls'. Contains: 'A Layman Looks at the Government' by H. P. Lovecraft, 'The Devil, the Terror, and the Horror: The Whateley Twins’ Further Debts to Folklore and Fiction' by Marc A. Beherec, 'The Unbroken Chain' by Irvin S. Cobb, 'The Pickman Models' by Robert D. Marten, '“Hey, Yew, Why Don’t Ye Say Somethin’?” Lovecraft’s Dramatic Monologues' by Robert H. Waugh, 'Necronomicon: A Note' by Alexandre Bouchard and Louis-Pierre Smith Lacroix, 'Fred Chappell’s Cthulhu Appropriations: Dagon' by Casey Clabough, and a review of S. T. Joshi's A Dreamer and a Visionary: H. P. Lovecraft in His Time by Donald R. Burleson, Ph.D.
S. T. Joshi, ed.: Lovecraft Studies 45 (Spring 2005), cover art by Jason Eckhardt, $5.95Lovecraft Studies is back, hopefully now on a semi-regular schedule, and in its original chapbook format. Latest issue features: “Dagon”: Shipwreck to Nowhere by Massimo Berruti; The Blasted Heath in “The Colour out of Space”: A Nightmare Theodicy by Robert H. Waugh; Spectre Loci: An Interpretation of “The Nameless City” by Michael Garrett; Metaphysics in “The Music of Erich Zann” by Henrik Harksen; and The Shadow out of Berkeley Square by John Strysik.
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- Sam Moskowitz on Dreams in the Witch House
- Vintage 1979 Ad for The Cthulhu Mythos"
- Rare images of HPL's graves (1979)
- Fantasy Mongers #1
- Lovecraft's Friend: W. Paul Cook
- Lovecraft's Friend: Arthur Goodenough
- Lovecraft's Sexuality: Part Two
- Lovecraft's Sexuality: Part One
- H.P. LOVECRAFT: FOUR DECADES OF CRITICISM edited b...
- Rare Item: The Ghost (W Paul Cook)
- P Schuyler Miller
- T Peter Park's recollection of 1958 Fresco Seminar...
- Lovecraft's Legacy (1966)
- Mirage #9 1970
- Lovecraft's Legacy (1975) Collection to that date.
- Lovecraft's Legacy (England 1952)
- Lovecraft's Legacy (1945) Derleth's Memoir
- Lovecraft's Legacy (1958) Symposium
- Frank Belknap Long (1926)
- Lovecraft's Legacy (1957) Derleth's The Murky Glass
- Merry Christmas from H P Lovecraft
- Fritz Leiber, Senior
- 2nd Copy of rare Muriel Eddy Memoir surfaces
- Lovecraft was 10 at the turn of the century
- Gleanings: Lovecraft on a wrong Roman legend
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1941 (Famous Fantastic Mysteries)
- Gleanings: 1932 October 30
- Lovecraft's Legacy: Rare Acolyte (1945)
- Songs of Four Decades: Arthur Goodenough
- "Land of Allen And Other Verse" by Walter John Coa...
- August Derleth to Donald Wandrei (1945)
- Recluse Press (1926)
- Gleanings: A New Feature
- Interesting anecdote about Whispers
- The Shunned House
- The Galleon 1935: Lovecraft Poem
- Quest of Iranon: 1935 The Galleon
- Lovecraft Studies: Index (partial)
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1956 (Fantasy Sampler)
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1945 (Acolyte)
- Lovecraft's Legacy: Those Who Believe He Practice...
- Lovecraft's Legacy: "Vampduster" Bob !
- Lovecraftiana: Jeffrey Combs Reads H P Lovecraft
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1970 (Miskatonic Fanzine)
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1975 (Willis Conover Fanzine)
- Muriel Eddy Writings
- Robert Barlow Correspondence
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1966
- Alternate Muriel Eddy Memoir Surfaces
- Lovecraftiana: David H Keller
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1944 (W Paul Cook)
- Providence: Lovecraft's Life
- Comparison of 1945 and 1961 Lovecraft Memoirs by M...
- Major Item: A Big THANK YOU to Ferdy
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1975
- Lovecraft in 1935: A Letter
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1979 (Fantasy Mongers)
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1963 Symposium Los Angeles
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1955 (Dream-Quest of Unknown K...
- 1000-th post
- J Vernon Shea
- Celebration of Lovecraft's Friends: W Paul Cook &...
- Lovecraft's Legacy: 1969
- Lovecraft's Legacy: August Derleth, 1959
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